Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn, is an upcoming 2011/2012 two-part romantic-fantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The two parts form the fourth and final installment in the popular The Twilight Saga series. Wyck Godfrey and Karen Rosenfelt will serve as executive producers for the film, along with the author of the series, Stephenie Meyer; the screenplay will be written by Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter of the first three entries. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, will reprise their roles.

Part 1 will be released on November 18, 2011, and Part 2 on November 16, 2012.

Plot

On November 4, 2010, Summit Entertainment released the official synopsis of the film:

“ In the highly anticipated next chapter of the blockbuster The Twilight Saga, the new found married bliss of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is cut short when a series of betrayals and misfortunes threatens to destroy their world.

After their wedding, Bella and Edward travel to Rio de Janeiro for their honeymoon, where they finally give in to their passions. Bella soon discovers she is pregnant, and during a nearly fatal childbirth, Edward finally fulfills her wish to become immortal.

But the arrival of their remarkable daughter, Renesmee, sets in motion a perilous chain of events that pits the Cullens and their allies against the Volturi, the fearsome council of vampire leaders, setting the stage for an all-out battle.

The suspenseful and deeply romantic Breaking Dawn continues the epic tale of supernatural fantasy and passionate love that has made The Twilight Saga a worldwide phenomenon.

”

Production,Development

Talks for a Breaking Dawn film started after Summit Entertainment greenlit the second and third adaptations of the franchise, and scheduled the two films to be released six months apart. Wyck Godfrey, producer of the previous films in the series, stated in mid-2009 that they had every intention to make the film version of Breaking Dawn, but Stephenie Meyer, author of the series, explained on her website's Breaking Dawn FAQ that if an adaptation were to be created, it would have to be split into two movies because "The book is just so long!", saying that she would have made the book shorter if it were possible. She also believed it to be impossible to make a film due to Renesmee, writing that an actress could not play her because she is a baby that has complete awareness, "The one thing that I've never seen is a CGI human being who truly looks real"; however, she did acknowledge the film might be possible due to the quickly-advancing technologies.Moreover, because of the mature and explicit nature of the Breaking Dawn book, fans and critics questioned if the studio would be able to keep a PG-13 rating, noting that the movie should not be rated R for the ever-growing fan base. In March 2010, Variety reported that Summit Entertainment was considering splitting the 754-page book into two films, along the same lines as Warner Bros.' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since under contract for only four films, the status of Kristen Stewart's, Robert Pattinson's, and Taylor Lautner contracts were in question, making the possibility of a split unlikely. Producer Wyck Godfrey stated that all three main cast members were signed onto one Breaking Dawn film.

“ I got very nervous. There were, like, 15 people. I had never really auditioned or gone into a job interview in that way since maybe 1988 or '87. I guess I was unprepared for it.  In this case, they wanted me to talk about their project, which really needed to follow very closely the book. I was talking about the book, and really all I was saying was, 'OK, this is great, let's go to it.' That was the pitch. I think they're used to something else. They're used to, for those of you who might audition for film jobs, a 40-minute dissertation with perhaps visual aids and a pep talk about how fantastic this project is going to be. I just didn't know how to do that.

Gus Van Sant

In March 2010, it was announced that Summit was searching for Academy-Award nominated directors to helm the project, with names like Sofia Coppola, Gus Van Sant and Bill Condon rumored to have been approached to direct. On April 28, 2010, Summit announced that Bill Condon, who directed Dreamgirls, would direct Breaking Dawn; producing the film will be Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and author Stephenie Meyer. "I'm very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book - and we're hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience," said Bill Condon. Gus Van Sant later explained that Robert Pattinson mentioning him as the ideal director for Breaking Dawn was what made him audition for the job and described the audition as "very nerve-wracking". However, after Condon was hired, Sant suggested that the reason behind not getting hired was his style and way of auditioning being different from what the executive producers were used to.

In June 2010, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start filming in November. A November 18, 2011, release date has been set for the first part, and the second part's release date is set for November 16, 2012. Wyck Godrey was also considering releasing the second film in 3D to differentiate between the time before and after Bella becomes a vampire.

In June 2010, Melissa Rosenberg stated in an interview that the decision on where to split the film had not been decided, as she was still in the drafting stage of the scripts.

Filming

In order to keep the budget on both parts of Breaking Dawn reasonable, even though it is substantially greater than the previous installments in the series, much of the film was shot in Louisiana. Shooting in Louisiana provided larger tax credits, which a small studio like Summit Entertainment would find favorable. Summit announced in a press release on July 9, 2010, that filming was to take place in Baton Rouge and Vancouver. Both parts will be shot back-to-back as one project. The film will attempt to keep its PG-13 rating, and it will not feature any of the gruesome scenes from the novel with Kristen Stewart confirming that the birth scene wasn't as grotesque as described in the book and that she didn't "puke up blood", though director Bill Condon said that they shot everything as "powerful and potent as they could".

Filming officially began on November 1, 2010 in Brazil, with locations in Rio de Janeiro and Paraty.The first scenes were shot in the Lapa District in Rio de Janeiro for one night. A long city block was rented for shooting, and Summit Entertainment paid residents $50 to $500 reais ($30 to $300 in American dollars) to not allow paparazzi or fans to overlook filming from their windows. Moreover, owners of bars and restaurants were paid $10,000 and $20,000 reais ($6,000 to $12,000 in American dollars) to stay closed for the evening to eliminate noise and provide a clear street.

Shooting then moved to Paraty where the honeymoon scenes were shot. According to Paraty's Tourism Office, filming took place in the Taquari area, near an unidentified waterfall and in Saco do Mamanguá beach where a mansion is located. In late November, shooting moved to Baton Rouge, Louisania and, reportedly, a few scenes were shot in Aresnal Park using green screens. It took about four to five weeks to shoot the ending sequence of Part 2 which would consume about twenty-seven minutes of the film. The sequence was shot using a green screen and fake snow with 75 actors on set.

In late February and early March, shooting began in Vancouver, Canada. However, the cast and crew were evacuated from the set due to the tsunami advisories resulting from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Toni Atterbury, a spokeswoman for the film, said that "the crew was moved to higher ground" as a safety precaution and "the shoot was delayed for a few hours, but the day’s work was accomplished". Therefore, filming relocated in Squamish, British Columbia, but a few scenes were shot in the Orpheum theater in Vancouver with the Vancouver police covering all the entrances of the theater.Summit Entertainment announced the designer of Kristen Stewart‘s character Bella’s wedding dress to be Carolina Herrera.The wedding scene in Part 1 was also shot under tight security. Off-duty police officers surrounded the set, and sheets and umbrellas were used to protect the set in order to avoid aerial shots being taken.

Music

On January 6, 2011 it was announced that Carter Burwell, composer of the first film in the series, will be returning to score both parts of the final installment.

Marketing,Promotion

The teaser poster of Breaking Dawn was released on May 24. After giving fans a sneak peek on June 2, MTV released the first official teaser trailer on June 5, the night of the MTV Movie Awards. It was released online shortly before the awards show began and then made its television debut during the broadcast. The trailer was previewed on select showtimes of Super 8.

On July 21, Summit held a sold-out Comic-Con panel in Hall H, which held 6,500 fans, promoting Part 1. Condon, Stewart, Pattinson and Lautner attended the panel and answered the fans' questions along with showing them exclusive clips from the film. Cast members arrived early in the morning and signed autographs and posters for the midnight-camping fans and Summit booths offered them Breaking Dawn: Part 1 character trading cards.

Leaks

When the filming started on November 7, 2010 in the Lapa District and Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leaked set photos and footage videos surfaced online. Summit Entertainment responded to the leaks by removing the photos and videos from YouTube, fansites and gossip websites. On January 13, 2011, scans of a still of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in one of their honeymoon scenes in an Entertainment Weekly article ran online, prior to the magazine's official release of the still. On March 31 and April 1, 2011, a mass leak of a 14-second video and numerous low-quality stills hit the Internet resulting to enthusiastic fan reaction and speculations that the film wouldn't be able to maintain a PG-13 rating. Summit Entertainment released an official statement in response to the leaks saying:

As some of you may know, pictures and screen grabs of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as a work in progress have leaked on the internet. We are extremely proud of this film and also extremely heartbroken to see it out there at this stage. The film and these images are not yet ready or in their proper context. They were illegally obtained and their early dissemination is deeply upsetting to the actors, the filmmakers and Summit who are working so hard to bring these movies to fruition to you in November 2011 and November 2012. Please, for those who are posting, stop. And please, though the temptation is high, don’t view or pass on these images. Wait for the film in its beautiful, finished entirety to thrill you. Sincerely, Stephenie Meyer, Bill Condon, Wyck Godfrey and Summit Entertainment.

Additionally, the first teaser trailer leaked online hours before its debut at the MTV Movie Awards.

Cast

Actor Role Part 1 Part 2

Kristen Stewart Bella Swan

Robert Pattinson Edward Cullen

Taylor Lautner Jacob Black

Billy Burke Charlie Swan

Peter Facinelli Carlisle Cullen

Elizabeth Reaser Esme Cullen

Ashley Greene Alice Cullen

Kellan Lutz Emmett Cullen

Nikki Reed Rosalie Hale

Jackson Rathbone Jasper Hale

Mackenzie Foy Renesmee Cullen

Dakota Fanning Jane

After confirming one film, Summit had been keeping their eye on a fifth instalment. In May 2010, Billy Burke and Peter Facinelli were the only cast actors who were confirmed for both parts of Breaking Dawn, while other cast members such as Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz were still in negotiations for a second part. If the actors holding Summit back from making an official announcement did not reach an agreement with them, the studio would not have minded recasting their roles, as was done in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse with Bryce Dallas Howard's character, Victoria. However, in June 2010, Summit officially confirmed that a two-part adaptation of the fourth book would start production and was made clear that all major actors, including the three lead roles, the Cullen family, and Charlie Swan, would return for both parts. The role of Renesmee, Edward and Bella's daughter has been confirmed to be played by Mackenzie Foy. Maggie Grace joined the cast of Breaking Dawn as the vampire Irina.

Various other cast members have been officially announced.

Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer, born December 24, 1973, née Morgan, is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages. Meyer is also the author of the adult science-fiction novel The Host.

Meyer was the biggest selling author of both 2008 and 2009, having sold over 29 million books in 2008 alone, with Twilight being the best-selling book of the year. She sold an additional 26.5 million books in 2009, making her the first author to achieve this feat in that year. Meyer was ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", and was also included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at #26. Her annual earnings exceeded $50 million. Also in 2010, Forbes ranked her as the #59 most powerful celebrity with annual earnings of $40 million.

The Twilight series,Twilight

Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl, and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the draft of what is now Chapter 13 of the book. In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a complete novel, though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment. Her sister's response to the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies. Of the 15 letters she wrote, five went unanswered, nine brought rejections, and the last was a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House. Eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in a 2003 auction. By November, Meyer had signed a $750,000 three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company.

Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies. It reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books within a month of its release, and later rose to #1. Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries. The novel was named the Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor's Choice.

Subsequent novels

Following the success of Twilight (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, New Moon reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next eleven weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list. After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies. Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day. The novel also won Meyer her first British Book Award, despite competition with J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard.The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide in 37 languages. In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Today's year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat as well as being the bestselling author of the year.The Twilight novels held the top four spots on USA Today's year-end list again in 2009.

In August 2009, USA Today revealed that Meyer broke J.K. Rowling's record on their bestseller list; the four Twilight books had spent 52 straight weeks in the top 10.The books have also spent more than 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Inspiration

Meyer cites many novels as inspiration for the Twilight series, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. Each book in the series was also inspired specifically by a different literary classic: Twilight by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Eclipse by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights; and Breaking Dawn's theme by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meyer said, "I've been reading books for adults my entire life. Growing up I was an avid reader—the thicker the book, the better." She also said she is a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, and "can't go through a year without re-reading" Jane Austen's books.

She also says that her writing is strongly influenced by music, and she posts "playlists" (from Playlist.com) on her website of songs which specifically inspired her books. Bands included most often in her playlists are Muse, Blue October, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, and Linkin Park.

Meyer, a Mormon, acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says that her characters "tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical. Meyer also steers her work from subjects such as sex, despite the romantic nature of the novels. Meyer says that she does not consciously intend her novels to be Mormon-influenced, or to promote the virtues of sexual abstinence and spiritual purity, but admits that her writing is shaped by her values, saying, "I don't think my books are going to be really graphic or dark, because of who I am. There's always going to be a lot of light in my stories.

Film adaptations

Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film, and the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg. It stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. The movie was released on November 21, 2008. Meyer makes a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene. Following the success of Twilight, Summit greenlit a film adaptation of the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in November 2008. Chris Weitz directed the film, which was released on November 20, 2009. Summit confirmed an adaptation of the third book in the series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, in February 2009.

Reception and recognition

Entertainment Weekly has stated that Meyer is "the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice", while The Guardian described her as an "imaginative storyteller, a prolific author and a newly powerful figure in the publishing market. Wayne Janes of Toronto Sun agreed, saying, "Meyer's success points up another trend — the virtual domination of the best-seller lists the last few years by what would normally be classified as young adult fiction," and noted, "In the absence of a new Harry Potter adventure, teens, fantasy enthusiasts and women (sales are mostly to females) who swoon at the idea of a virginal James Dean-ish vampire made Meyer the go-to gal for chaste love. Tymon Smith of The Times has described her as the "superstar of young adult fiction".

Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008, and one of MSN Lifestyle's "Most Influential Women of 2008" where she was described as a "literary luminary". She was also ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", and was included in their list of "People Who Mattered", with Lev Grossman noting, "Maybe Americans aren't ready for a Mormon presidential nominee yet. But they're more than ready to anoint a Mormon as the best-selling novelist of the year."[63] As well, Meyer was included in The Arizona Republic's "Valley's Most Fascinating People" in December 2008.

Novelist Orson Scott Card said, "[Stephenie Meyer] writes with luminous clarity, never standing between the reader and the dream they share. She's the real thing". Scott also went on to describe Meyer as an "amazing phenomenon". In an interview with Newsweek, author Jodi Picoult said, "Stephenie Meyer has gotten people hooked on books, and that's good for all of us.

Meyer was ranked #5 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top-Earning Women", the only author on the list, and it was noted that the "Twilight series of young-adult vampire books have taken the publishing and film worlds by storm. She was also ranked #82 on Vanity Fair's list of the "Top 100 Information Age Powers" of 2009. The same year, Meyer was featured in an issue of the biographical comic Female Force, a Bluewater Productions title which celebrates influential women in society and pop culture. The comic has previously published biographies of women such as Oprah Winfrey and Princess Diana. In 2011 CEOWORLD Magazine ranked her among CEOWORLD magazine's Top Accomplished Women Entertainers.

Meyer was the second bestselling author of the decade, according to a list published by Amazon, beaten only by JK Rowling.

Fan following

Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers for her Twilight novels, which are set in the small town of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Forks has thus received an unusual amount of attention, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday.

Fans express themselves in other ways: They dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands.

Criticism

Comparing Meyer to J. K. Rowling, Stephen King stated, "the real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer, and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good. King went on to say that "people are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual.

Some of the strongest criticism comes from feminists who consider Meyer an anti-feminist writer, pointing out that Bella's entire life revolves around Edward, and that she is never in control; she is absolutely dependent on Edward’s ability to protect her life, her virginity, and her humanity. Meyer has dismissed such criticisms, arguing both that the books center around Bella's choice, and that her damsel in distress persona is due only to her humanity.

Personal life

Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. She then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1997. Meyer met her husband Christiaan, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994 when they both were 21. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli. Christiaan Meyer, formerly an auditor, has now retired to take care of the children.

Meyer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she has stated that she is strait-laced about her beliefs and does not drink alcohol or smoke. Meyer had never written even a short story before Twilight and had considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer; she later noted that the birth of her oldest son Gabe changed her mind, saying, "Once I had Gabe, I just wanted to be his mom. Before becoming an author, Meyer's only professional work was as a receptionist in a property company.

Meyer currently lives in Cave Creek, Arizona,and also owns a home on Marrowstone Island, Washington.

Other works

One of Meyer's short stories was published in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural effects. Meyer's story, Hell on Earth, was about a demon named Sheba and a half-angel named Gabe who fall in love with each other. Other authors who contributed to this collection are Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, and Lauren Myracle. Prom Nights from Hell was released in April 2007.

In May 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel, The Host, was released by the adult division of Little, Brown and Company; it follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading alien "soul," who are forced to work as one. The Host debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and remained on the list for 26 weeks. In March 2008, Meyer said she was "almost done" writing a possible sequel to The Host, entitled The Soul. If she were to continue the series, the third book would be called The Seeker.

Meyer mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled Summer House and a novel involving time travel, as well as another about mermaids. Her mermaids will be man eaters, so the humans fish for them. This will be set in a fantasy world and the book will have a map in the front. The mermaids will be called sirens and named with sounds that make it seem like they’re talking underwater, long ‘e’ sounds, with l and s too.The story will be about a girl nicknamed Froggy, who is a human with siren friends. On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Meyer had written the treatment for Jack's Mannequin music video, "The Resolution", which she co-directed the following week.

In 2009, Meyer teamed with the skateboard and clothing company Hobo Skate Company to produce her own clothing line, consisting of a line of T-shirts and skateboards related to her science-fiction novel, The Host.

On March 30, 2010, it was announced that Meyer had written a 200-page novella "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner". The book was released on June 5, 2010, by Atom and was also available for free between June 7 and July 5 on the official website.

Philanthropy

In April 2009, Meyer took part in Project Book Babe, a benefit designed to help pay her friend Faith Hochhalter's medical bills after Hochhalter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Meyer donated many advance reader copies and original manuscripts for auction. The same year, Meyer teamed up with Hobo Skate Company to auction off a The Host-themed skateboard, which sold for $1500 that was donated to charity.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final novel in the The Twilight Saga by American author Stephenie Meyer. Divided into three parts, the first and third sections are written from Bella Swan's perspective and the second is written from the perspective of Jacob Black. The novel directly follows the events of the previous novel, Eclipse, as Bella and Edward Cullen get married, leaving behind a heartbroken Jacob. When Bella faces an unexpected situation, she does what it takes to undergo the ultimate transformation and fight the final battle to save her love.

Meyer finished an outline of the book in 2003, but developed and changed it as she wrote New Moon and Eclipse, though the main and most significant storylines remained unchanged. Little, Brown and Company took certain measures to prevent the book's contents from leaking, such as closing forums and message boards on several fansites and providing a special e-mail address for fans to send in links to leaks and spoilers online.

Breaking Dawn was released on August 2, 2008 at midnight release parties in over 4,000 bookstores throughout the US. From its initial print run of 3.7 million copies, over 1.3 million were sold in the US and 20,000 in the UK in the first 24 hours of the book's release, setting a record in first-day sales performance for the Hachette Book Group USA. The book was highly successful, selling over 6 million copies in 2008, and was the third best-selling novel of 2008 behind Twilight and New Moon.

Breaking Dawn received mixed reviews from critics and is the most controversial book in the series, as it explored more mature themes and concepts. However, the novel was awarded the British Book Award for "Children's Book of the Year". The book was translated in 38 languages with rights sold to over 50 countries. An upcoming two-part film adaptation of the novel is scheduled for release in November 18, 2011 and November 16, 2012, respectively.

Plot summary

Breaking Dawn is split into three separate parts. The first part details Bella's marriage and honeymoon with Edward, which they spend on a private island, called Isle Esme, off the coast of Brazil. Two weeks into their honeymoon, Bella realizes that she is pregnant with a half-vampire, half-human child and that her condition is progressing at an unnaturally accelerated rate. After contacting Carlisle, who confirms her pregnancy, she and Edward immediately return home to Forks, Washington. Edward, concerned for Bella's life and convinced that the fetus is a monster as it continues to develop with unnatural rapidity, urges her to have an abortion. However, Bella feels a connection with her unborn baby and refuses.

The novel's second part is written from the perspective of shape-shifter Jacob Black, and lasts throughout Bella's pregnancy and childbirth. Jacob's Quileute wolf pack, not knowing what danger the unborn child may pose, plan to destroy it and kill Bella. Jacob vehemently protests this decision and leaves, forming his own pack with Leah and Seth Clearwater. The fetus in Bella's body grows swiftly and Bella soon gives birth, but the baby breaks many of her bones and she loses massive amounts of blood. In order to save her life, Edward changes her into a vampire by injecting his venom into her heart. Jacob, who was present for the birth, almost immediately "imprints"—an involuntary response in which a shape-shifter finds his soul mate—on Edward and Bella's newborn daughter, Renesmee.

The third section of Breaking Dawn shifts back to Bella's perspective, describing Bella's painful transformation and finding herself changed into a vampire and enjoying her new life and abilities. However, the vampire Irina misidentifies Renesmee as an "immortal child", a child who has been turned into a vampire. Because "immortal children" are uncontrollable, creating them has been outlawed by the Volturi. After Irina presents her allegation to the Volturi, they plan to destroy Renesmee and the Cullens. In an attempt to survive, the Cullens gather other vampire clans from around the world to stand as witnesses and prove to the Volturi that Renesmee is not an immortal child. Upon confronting the gathered Cullen allies and witnesses, the Volturi discover that they have been misinformed and immediately execute Irina for her mistake. 

Background,Development

Originally, Meyer wrote a book titled Forever Dawn, which was a direct sequel to Twilight. While the basic storyline remained the same, Forever Dawn was narrated completely from Bella's point of view, the werewolves and Jacob were "only sketchily developed", Victoria and Laurent were both alive, and there was an epilogue. Meyer went on to say that she "may post some extras someday if I ever have time to go back through the Forever Dawn manuscript—it's just as long as Breaking Dawn."

The part which took Meyer the longest time to write of Breaking Dawn was the half-chapter describing the three months after Bella's transformation into a vampire because "the amount of time per word put into that section was probably ten times what it was in any other part of the book" and Meyer liked to write minute by minute, but didn't think it would be exciting.

Meyer decided to include the pregnancy in her story while she was researching vampires, early in 2003, and came across the legend of the incubus, a demon who could father children. Bella's insistence to not let her child die was inspired by Meyer's reaction when asked if she would let one of her children die so she could live, which was to deliver the child no matter what the consequences were. Meyer said in an interview with Shannon Hale, published in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, that the birth scene published is a little less grotesque than the one she wrote before editing due to her editor, agent and publisher's requests to "tone down the violence a little". She stated that Bella's pregnancy and childbirth, for her, were "a way to kind of explore that concept of what childbirth used to be" in the past and acknowledged that they were "taking Bella in a new direction that wasn't as relatable for a lot of people.Concerning the subject of the relatibility of Bella, Meyer admitted that she lost some of her relatibility to the character when she became a vampire and said, "every point up until that point in the story the transformation I would say I could step into this story right here and I could do everything she could do which made it really fun. Meyer wanted to experience Bella's vampiric experiences and "enjoyed very much writing" about them and wanted to end the book from her perspective, but still thought it was "a little bit harder" as she couldn't step in into the story anymore.

In regard to Renesmee's unique name, Meyer wrote that she "couldn't call her Jennifer or Ashley. What do you name the most unique baby in the world? I looked through a lot of baby name websites. Eventually I realized that there was no human name that was going to work for me, so I surrendered to necessity and made up my own.

Influences

The plays The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream both influenced Breaking Dawn. Meyer decided that Alice would write her instruction to Bella on a page from The Merchant of Venice to give a clue that the final confrontation at the end of the book would be a mental one—not a physical battle–like the one at the end of the play. It also hints that the novel would have a happy ending, as in The Merchant of Venice. Originally it was Jane Eyre that Alice tore a page from, but Jane Eyre had nothing to do with the story, so Meyer changed it.

The idea of imprinting, which existed in Forever Dawn, was inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meyer described it as "the magic of setting things right—which doesn't happen in the real world, which is absolutely fantasy", and decided to introduce it earlier–in Eclipse–so she wouldn't have to explain it later.

Cover art

Meyer described the cover as "extremely meaningful" and said that she was "really happy with how it turned out". The cover is a metaphor for Bella's progression throughout the entire series; she began as the physically weakest player on the board, the pawn, but at the end she becomes the strongest, the queen. The chessboard also hints at the conclusion of the novel "where the battle with the Volturi is one of wits and strategy, not physical violence.

Title

The title, Breaking Dawn, is a reference to the beginning of Bella's life as a newborn vampire. Originally, Meyer wanted to title the book Forever Dawn, but she thought the name was very "cheesy". Wanting to add a "sense of disaster" to the title to match the novel's mood, she called it Breaking Dawn. Another reason for giving the book this particular title is that it matches the book's plot, which centers around "a new awakening and a new day and there's also a lot of problems inherent in it".

Release,Marketing

Entertainment Weekly magazine released an excerpt of Breaking Dawn on May 30, 2008. Stephenie Meyer also revealed a 'Quote of the Day' from Breaking Dawn for about three weeks prior to its August 2, 2008 release. The first quote was released on Stephenie's website on July 12, 2008. The first chapter of Breaking Dawn, "Engaged", was released in the special edition of Eclipse. Breaking Dawn was officially released on August 2, 2008 through midnight release parties in over 4,000 bookstores, most of which involved costume and trivia contests, crafts, and face painting.

Godiva also made a Twilight-themed chocolate bar, which was released in Barnes & Noble book stores at the release parties. A four-city Breaking Dawn Concert Series, featuring Stephenie Meyer and Blue October's Justin Furstenfeld, coincided with the novel's release. The concert series sold out three of its four locations on the day that tickets went on sale, selling out in under an hour in one city.

Publication

Prior to the novel's release, the first three Twilight books had already sold 8.5 million copies throughout the US and over 2 million copies in the UK. Breaking Dawn was one of the most anticipated books of 2008 with The Guardian noting, "Teenagers across the world are anxiously awaiting the next instalment of author Stephenie Meyer's vampiric series of novels. To meet the high demand, Little, Brown Books added a printing of 500,000 additional copies just prior to publication of the title, bringing initial print run to 3.7 million.

The book sold 1.3 million copies in the US and 20,000 copies in the UK in its first 24 hours of release, as well as 100,000 copies in Canada during its first weekend. Breaking Dawn debuted at #1 on USA Today's top 150 best sellers list and has gone on to spend over 58 weeks on the list. It was also the biggest-selling children's book of 2008 with over 6 million copies sold.

A special edition of Breaking Dawn was released on August 4, 2009, containing a DVD of the Breaking Dawn Concert Series and an interview with Meyer.

Reception

Reception of Breaking Dawn was, at best, "mixed". Lev Grossman wrote, "First, since there's a lot of one-star reviews up on Amazon, let me say up front: I loved Breaking Dawn. Cara von Wrangel Kinsey of School Library Journal responded with a positive review, describing the book as "captivating" and noting, "While this novel is darker and more mature than the earlier titles, Meyer's twists and turns are not out of character. The Charlotte Observer agreed and called the book "pretty darned good", but criticized the book's length saying, "I wish Stephenie Meyer hadn't felt compelled to pack so much into one volume. It should have been two books. Mary Harris Russell of the Chicago Tribune also responded with a positive review and hailed the book as a "fun read", noting that Stephenie Meyer "continues to produce witty writing about families, teenagers and popular culture", while Time called the book "a wild but satisfying finish to the ballad of Bella and Edward" and gave it a rating of A-. An article in The Daily News Tribune said of Breaking Dawn, "Some of the dialog is a bit stilted,... but, if you stay close to Meyer's rich and prodigious narrative, you too might fall in love with its suspense and moving sensitivity".

Publishers Weekly stated that the main problem with Breaking Dawn was that, "Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily—in other words, grandeur is out. In an article by The Associated Press, journalist Sara Rose wrote on NewsOK.com that fans of the series would love "engaging characters, great humor, a distracting obsession with beauty, focus on the minutiae of emotions"; however "casual readers may be disappointed with a lot of build-up and little action. The Independent called the book, "shockingly, tackily, sick-makingly sexist" and said that "Bella Swan lives to serve men and suffer. Entertainment Weekly graded Breaking Dawn with a D, criticizing the birth scene and Bella's "unwavering passion for Edward" and having no other goals. The Washington Post also responded with a negative review, making comments such as, "Meyer has put a stake through the heart of her own beloved creation," and "Breaking Dawn has a childbirth sequence that may promote lifelong abstinence in sensitive types.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Meyer responded to the negative response of many fans to the book and called it the "Rob Effect"; she said that the fans need time to accept the ending of Breaking Dawn, just as they needed time to accept Robert Pattinson playing the role of Edward in the Twilight movie.

Awards and honors

Breaking Dawn was the recipient of a British Book Award for "Children's Book of the Year". In the 2009 "Children's Choice Book Awards", the novel was chosen as "Teen Choice Book of the Year" and Meyer won the "Author of the Year" award.

Breaking Dawn, Imprinting Scene 'Tough' For Taylor Lautner

The cast talks about the new movie, plus watch individual pressline video interviews with Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. In addition, Summit Entertainment has cut together a special fan tribute video called "Comic-Con Fan Wake Up Call" to celebrate all the fans that spent the night in line just to get a glimpse of the cast.

And since the birthing scene is going to require a lot of CGI before the product is finished, Lautner wasn't even able to act off another person while he "imprinted." "I was given an X on a wall," Lautner explained at San Diego Comic-Con. "I don't know what I would have wanted [instead]; there isn't any ideal situation here."

In the book, Lautner's character, Jacob Black, plans on killing the child that nearly killed his best friend and major crush, Bella (played by Kristen Stewart). But upon seeing the baby in front of him, he imprints on the little girl and discovers that she is the woman he will spend the rest of his life loving, and his murderous purpose disappears.

Lautner explained his experience filming the scene, saying, "I had to walk into the room with the intention of killing this baby and then stop, twist and imprint on it, whatever that means."

Co-star Robert Pattinson, laughing out loud, exclaimed, "That sounds amazing! Jacob's secrets revealed."

Lautner explained that the scene was the most challenging he filmed during the entire series, and it took a lot of preparation to get ready for it. "I spent a lot of time talking to director Bill Condon and to author Stephenie Meyer and asking, 'What exactly does imprinting even look like?' " he said. "It was tough, so I sure hope it comes across alright.